HEAD teacher Gillian Cole is leaving Beaufort Primary School after a busy five-and-a-half years at the helm.

Staff and pupils at the school in Kirkland Avenue, Woking, marked her final week in charge with a special space-themed sports day.

It featured moonwalking, an assault course and javelin throwing, which moonlighted as rocket launching. The dynamic and imaginative day was a fitting end to Mrs Cole’s tenure as headteacher, during which the school’s curriculum has moved away from government-prescribed topics and towards a more creative approach.

Speaking on her last day, she said: “We look to be a little bit different and make things relevant, exciting and memorable because then the children are much more likely to learn.

“Beaufort has been an absolutely fantastic place to work, working with a super staff team. The children are also energetic and creative so it’s been a very exciting place to work and to learn.”

The school has undergone significant changes under her stewardship with extensive remodelling work and the creation of a new IT suite, classrooms and library.

Mrs Cole said: “We have also totally changed the curriculum during my time here and are working in a much more creative way.

“The whole school takes part in our creativity weeks, where we devote a whole week to a particular project. We get focused and it’s something the children can really get their teeth into, so they look forward to it.”

After the sports day, parents stayed at the school to enjoy a family picnic. Mrs Cole, 42, taught children across the primary age range before arriving to Beaufort from a school near Camberley.

After teaching in Surrey for 17 years, she is now looking forward to a new challenge, becoming a school’s consultant for Wokingham District Council.

She said: “I will miss the daily contact with children. However, I have the opportunity to influence more schools’ practice and take the lessons we have been practising here and disseminate them to other schools.”